Rebuilding the Orioles - Kranitz Takes over as Pitching Coach

In October 2007, the Orioles named Rick Kranitz as pitching coach, replacing legendary guru Leo Mazzone, whose short stint in Baltimore was not nearly as successful as his long tenure in Atlanta - then again he wasn't calling on Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine year after year in his most recent gig. Kranitz, with a history of working successfully with young pitchers, was brought in to share his expertise with mechanics and ability to communicate well. Now entering his third season as O's pitching coach, it figures to be a pivotal one for him, with the many promising young arms now looking to make an impact at the Major League level. Here's the story from October 2007 on MLB.com, announcing the hiring of Kranitz, and a follow-up one early in Spring Training 2008 about his being "a perfect fit for the youngsters."

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles filled one of their few remaining high-profile coaching slots on Wednesday when they reached a deal with former Florida pitching coach Rick Kranitz. Kranitz, who spent the last two seasons with the Marlins, will be replacing veteran coach Leo Mazzone, with whom the Orioles severed ties last week.
"Leo was a good pitching coach, but I believe for what we're going to do and the direction were going, Rick Kranitz is the right guy for the Baltimore Orioles," said manager Dave Trembley, who was instrumental in the hiring. "What he brings to us is a level of expertise in mechanics [and] the ability to adapt to a whole lot of different styles of pitching. He's a real good communicator, which is something I think is going to be real important. We basically have a real young pitching staff."

Kranitz, who was named Baseball America's Major League Coach of the Year in 2006, previously spent 22 years coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization. He has a common background with three men with whom he'll be working in Baltimore -- Trembley, bullpen coach Alan Dunn and Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations.

All three worked in Chicago for a substantial period of time, and Kranitz calls his new working conditions an "absolute perfect fit." He is intrigued by Baltimore's young rotation and excited to get to work.

"I know Andy and I know Dave. I know what they can do," Kranitz said, crediting Dunn later in the conversation. "I really feel like in a sense I'm returning home, even though I'm thousands of miles away from Phoenix. I didn't talk to Dave during the season, but once we started our conversations again, it was like we never stopped talking."

Trembley, who managed in Chicago's organization from 1994 to 2002, had previously stated that his staff would be filled by people he could pick. Dunn, who was hired in August, was the first piece of the staff's restructuring.

The Orioles have announced that hitting coach Terry Crowley will return next year, but there should be a new bench coach and first-base coach.

"My first priority was to fill the pitching coach slot. I thought that was key and most crucial," Trembley said of the team's prompt and efficient hiring process. "Mr. MacPhail has been tremendous with me. He's allowed me to give him names I'm interested in, and he'll either say 'Yes' or 'No' to me. He hasn't said 'No' yet. The next two slots we have, we'll fill with the best available guys that we can. I'll get input from Mr. MacPhail and we'll go from there."

Kranitz was offered a chance to remain in Florida in his previous capacity, but he elected to pursue this opportunity. He began his coaching career in 1984 with the Cubs' rookie-level affiliate in Pikeville and steadily moved through the farm system. He has also managed for one season and served as a Minor League pitching coordinator.

The Florida job was his first full-time Major League stint as a pitching coach, and he got it because of another former Cub -- ex-Marlins manager Joe Girardi, who was dismissed after the 2006 season. Kranitz considered staying with the Marlins for another season and would have liked more time to make up his mind, but ultimately, he thought that he made the right choice.

"It was a very tough decision for me because I had a lot of great relationships over there," he said. "I had a great young pitching staff, [but] I just felt like I wanted to see what other opportunities were out there for me. It was a very hard decision. Let's just leave it at that."

The Marlins thrived under Kranitz in 2006, posting the fifth-best ERA (4.37) in the National League. Four rookies won at least 10 games for Florida that season, which was a first in big-league history. Those starters stumbled this season, but Kranitz led the team's relief staff to a 4.02 ERA, the third-best mark in franchise history.

Kranitz doesn't know too much about Baltimore's pitching depth but is excited to work with Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Jeremy Guthrie. He also said that he didn't see them pitch last season -- unless you count Spring Training, when he was quite clearly preoccupied with making sure his own pitchers were prepared for the season.

"I've talked to Dave about a few of these guys. Absolutely, I'm looking forward to working with the young guys. We had a whole host of them in Florida," he said. "You really have to get to know the individual you're working with.

"Communication to me is essential. It's not easy to pitch in the big leagues, and it's not easy to pitch in the division we're in. What I bring is, I know, a good work ethic. I will be a tireless worker. I believe in preparation."

Trembley said that those two factors -- communication and preparation -- were among the reasons he considered Kranitz the perfect fit. Kranitz said that he won't work to a specific philosophy as much as he'll tailor his tutelage to each pitcher's strength, and he said that he's always thought a pitching coach should serve as the manager's "right-hand man."

"I'm just absolutely thrilled," he said. "I know our styles work real good together. I'm just very anxious to get started."

New pitching coach spent two decades as Minor League coach
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Rick Kranitz doesn't wear his legacy on his arm in the form of a colored tattoo, and he doesn't mention the many pitchers he's tutored when you ask him about his current crop. Kranitz, the Orioles' new pitching coach, seems to be an understated teacher and a fitting counterpoint to his predecessor, Leo Mazzone.

Mazzone, who wore a "14 straight" tattoo to commemorate the record 14 consecutive division titles he won with Atlanta, was let go last winter in one of the first moves that foreshadowed Baltimore's rebuilding movement. Once that became official, manager Dave Trembley began pondering who he'd like to take over and kept on coming back to Kranitz.

When asked why he had Kranitz in mind, Trembley ticks off a list of flattering attributes.

"His demeanor. The fact that he doesn't try to clone anybody," Trembley said on Sunday. "He works with what he has. He's flexibile in his personality [and] he's a very good teacher. He's been in the Minor Leagues for a long time, so he's had to deal with a lot of different personalities. He had to learn his craft with patience. Plus I know Kranny and I trust him."

Kranitz, who spent the past two seasons as Florida's pitching coach, earned his stripes over 22 seasons as a Minor League coach with the Cubs. That's where he met Trembley and Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's president of baseball operations, and more important, it's where he learned how to coax the best results out of young pitchers.

That was a huge part of the job description with the Marlins and will be again in Baltimore, where the Orioles are trying to rebuild around a host of young pitchers. Kranitz knows that his status will be tied to the development of arms like Adam Loewen, Daniel Cabrera and Jeremy Guthrie -- among others -- and he sees no reason not to expect the best.

"Just because they're young doesn't mean they can't be successful. I'm not going to use that as a crutch," Kranitz said. "We can all compete on every pitch, and that's what I expect, whether you're a first-year guy or a 15-year veteran like Steve Trachsel. The approach still needs to be the same.

"My big thing is I want these guys to make sure they're prepared and ready to go when they walk out there. If they're not, then I haven't done my job. I think, for the most part, a lot of these guys are ready to go."

If you don't count Trachsel -- who has more wins (and losses) than any other Baltimore starter has decisions -- the Orioles' projected rotation has just a 55-60 career record. Most of those decisions come from the enigmatic Cabrera, but Kranitz will be equally charged with nurtuting Loewen and helping to make sure that Guthrie can repeat his success.

Kranitz lost the use of a functioning ace last month, when the Orioles dealt southpaw Erik Bedard to Seattle. The fifth starter is as yet undetermined, but will likely come from a pool of high caliber but lightly tested pitching prospects. Still, the coach can see several good arms who seem to need a road map to get to where they need to be.

"The veteran guys know themselves a lot better. They know what they can do and they know the league," he said, underlining the difference in coaching approach. "It just comes down to the ability to make pitches a lot of times. A young guy -- a first- or second-year guy -- still has to figure out what their stuff can do and how they can use it."

Guthrie said he got that precise kind of education and tutelage from Mazzone, but he's confident that Kranitz can help him continue his upward trajectory. Even without Bedard, Guthrie thinks the staff can be successful.

"I don't think there's any more pressure. Everyone needs to go out there and do the best they can," Guthrie said. "I think everyone understands that the majority of us are very young and still learning."

Kranitz is still learning his craft at the big league level, but like Trembley, he can use his Minor League foundation to build a Major League resume. He's used the first two weeks of camp to get to know his pitchers -- both on the field and off -- and said he has a better early feel for the Orioles than he did during the beginning stages of his Florida tenure.

Kranitz will know even more once the Grapefruit League season begins and he can see how pitchers react to game situations, but for now, he's thankful for the opportunity and mindful of all the miles he's put on to get here.

"When you're starting your career as a coach at the lowest level, it's a very surreal experience. You never know where you're going to end up sometimes," said Kranitz of his time in the Minor Leagues. "The next thing you know, you're there and you're doing it. But you'd better be ready when you get the opportunity, and that's the whole thing."

Kranitz said he doesn't know enough about Mazzone to know how their approaches differ, and he said he wasn't worried about changing anything the pitchers wanted to keep. He also said that he'll adapt his routine to each individual pitcher and has even said that sometimes he'll have pitchers throw twice between starts, just like Mazzone liked to do.

When it gets down to business, though, it's the pitchers that have to execute. Guthrie, the odds-on favorite to start on Opening Day, said that he's thankful for having come across each of his last two pitching coaches and eager to put their instructions into action on the mound.

"I think they can offer different aspects of teaching and pitching and have different approaches," he said. "We'll see if the approach that Kranitz has will be more effective with younger pitchers than Leo has. I'm sure there is some experience or some history in his past that would indicate that he is better suited for a staff that has some young kids that need some day-to-day mechanical work and talking. I think that's why he's here this year."